Student who accused bus driver over sex now facing school drug charges

Two Bessemer City High School students are accused of making a drug deal during gym class.

The incident happened Friday.

According to arrest warrants, 16-year-old Michael Leshay Freeman brought marijuana to school and planned to sell it to Donja A. Phillips.

Another student saw one of the teens show drugs to the other, then they walked into the bathroom, according to Sgt. Josh Hamlin with Gaston County Police. The student who witnessed the exchange told a school staff member, and the students were confronted in the bathroom.

Freeman and Phillips were arrested at the school and have since been released from jail on bond.

Phillips was charged with felony conspiracy and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Freeman was charged with manufacturing and possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, both felonies.

Hamlin said he didn’t know how the students would be disciplined at school, and school officials wouldn’t discuss punishment citing student privacy.

State guidelines allow for suspension for drug activity.

This marks Phillips’ second brush with Gaston County Police this year.

Phillips and another Bessemer City High School student were charged with blackmail in January.

According to police, Phillips and Malik Ty Mel Moore both engaged in sexual activity with former school bus driver Kwanda Carpenter.

The encounter did not occur on school property or on the bus, police said.

According to arrest warrants, Phillips and Moore sent messages to Carpenter and threatened “to call the police and report that she had raped them if she didn’t give them money.”

The two Bessemer City High School students used Facebook to try to extort $60 from Carpenter, police said.

The sexual misconduct came to light when Carpenter reported the Facebook threat to the school resource officer on Jan. 11.

She was arrested, suspended from her job and ultimately fired.

Phillips’ next court date in the blackmail case is in August.

You can reach reporter Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.